Wish Upon A Star

Fairy Godmother Fulfills Dreams Of Sick Children

September 05, 2002|By DIANA MCFARLAND Daily Press

When Teresa Hutcheson arrives at the door of a sick child, she isn't sporting yards of tulle, nor is she carrying a magic wand. She is, however, the closest thing to a fairy godmother that a child with a terminal or life- threatening illness may get.

Hutcheson is a wish granter with the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Her subjects are not Cinderella's, but rather children and families in need of a smile.

Over the past five years, Hutcheson has had many opportunities to ask a child the magical Make-A-Wish question, "If you could have any wish, what would it be?"

For these kids, the sky's the limit.

"Most of the kids ask to go to Disney World, but some of the younger ones don't even know what a wish is. In that case, we spend a little extra time working with them until we find the thing that really makes them smile," she said. Typical wishes include trips to the Bahamas, shopping sprees and toys. The most unusual wish was for a boy who wanted to visit the local battlefields, but ended up being a Civil War re-enactor for a day.

The thought of those wishes makes Hutcheson smile, but she knows firsthand how difficult it is to have a child with a life-threatening illness. Six years ago, her niece was born with spina bifida. For the first year of her life, Destini' lived in the hospital. Hutcheson witnessed the toll the disability took on her sister and the rest of the family.

"I know how it feels and what the family goes through. The child bears the brunt, of course, but it affects the entire family. I know firsthand the need for a temporary break from the illness," Hutcheson said.

"So when we come in, we try to relieve that stress. It's not just about granting a wish and making a child smile, but also making the entire family smile."

After the child makes a wish, Hutcheson and her partner (wish-granters work in pairs) submit the necessary paperwork to the Virginia Beach office. After that, the magic begins.

The Make-A-Wish Foundation relies entirely on donations. While the organization is nationwide, donations from this area stay here, Hutcheson said. Donations are received from corporations, civic organizations, businesses and individuals, and the average wish costs about $4,500. Not only do people donate money, but they also lend items such as cars and planes, as well as their personal time, expertise and experience. Sometimes, said Hutcheson, a donation arrives serendipitously.

Hutcheson recalls a shopping spree with one of her "wish kids," a boy in search of his favorite tunes. He was in the music section of Target, picking out CDs. A man standing nearby happened to overhear what was going on. That man, Hutcheson recalled, paid for every CD the boy put on the counter, no questions asked. It was that man's goodness, and that of others, that never ceases to amaze her.

"We all have a soft spot when it comes to children. We all get sad when they're sick and hurting," Hutcheson said.

Hutcheson works as a federal parole officer. Before that, she was a police officer with the City of Newport News for more than six years. While she finds her career in the criminal justice system rewarding, she admits that she's often mired in the negative aspects of human behavior. When she became a Make-A-Wish volunteer, the position gave her an opportunity to see the flip side of what she faces every day.

"With Make-A-Wish, I get to see the best of people in a difficult situation. "Everyone is chipping in for the child," she said.

Children eligible for the Make-A-Wish Foundation are between the ages of 21/2 and 18. The only criterion, according to Terri Baines, director of wishes, is that a child be suffering from a life-threatening and/or terminal illness that creates a probability that the child won't reach his or her 18th birthday and won't be able to make his or her own wishes come true. Only a doctor can refer a child to the program.

Hutcheson figures she's granted between 20-25 wishes over the past five years. They range from the sophisticated (Italian cruise) to the innocent (shopping and lunch at McDonalds), and the whole family gets to participate.

Hutcheson's favorite is the shopping spree. For a day of shopping, the child and his or her family is picked up in a limo and driven to the store(s) of their choice.

"The first stop is usually Toys-R-Us. You should see them go for broke," she laughs. It's a full day of fun and includes lunch wherever they choose, although Hutcheson is always amused when a child picks that perennial childhood favorite -- McDonald's.

Since the goal of each wish is to make the child smile and relieve the family, Hutcheson said, Make-A-Wish takes care of every detail, right down to developing the film and compiling the pictures in a scrapbook. All this preparation and planning takes an army of volunteers who amaze Hutcheson by the sheer generosity of their acts.

"There's a group of ladies on the Southside who started making scrapbooks for the kids who have taken trips. It's awesome!" Hutcheson said.